Through The Looking Glass
by AegisX-TAIL
Summary: What you see is what you get, right? Wrong. That’s not the case for everyone. What happens when Raven finally takes a glance through the looking glass? Will she see what everyone else can see or will she see something else entirely?


_**Through the Looking Glass**_

_**By: AegisX**_

**Hey… what's up? I'm probly getting annoying with just posting things up and not finishing them, but blame my mind for that. I'm posting this is up as a rough draft. I'll probly end up taking it down and redoing it, but first i gotta see if its worth the time, right? Well… Enjoy the Red… Adios for now… just gimme a review if it sucked….**

_**AGX**_

"Hey, watch out!" one of the most popular members of the school's elite crowd snarled out. "I wouldn't want to get infected with your stupidity." The crowd around the lunch table all laughed cruelly at the retreating figure, his long ash colored hair covered in food.

"What was the point to that, Tim?" asked an indigo haired girl.

"He should've been watching where he was going, and not reading that book," said Tim or rather Timothy Drake. "No offense, Raven," he quickly corrected himself as she arched an eyebrow at him.

Raven stood up and left the table, just barely acknowledging her friends. She walked inside the main school building, reading her book when someone knocked her over.

"I'm sorry, I'm very sorry," he said as he helped her up, picking up her book before he apologized once more. "I'm sorry," and took off at a run.

Raven arched an eyebrow before she continued on her way.

She was sitting against the chain link fence, reading her book. "Why aren't you dressed, Roth?" the gym teacher barked at her, only to be met with a flat stare as she said... "I hate gym class."

"And that's why you're failing this class," the teacher snapped back before shifting his attention to another of his students. "Tobias Grimm! What's your excuse for not dressing?"

"I'm sorry, sir. My locker was broken into and my clothes were gone," responded Tim Drake's favorite punching bag.

"This is the 6th time that it's happened this month." the gym teacher noted on a note pad, "Remind me to get you another locker by tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

Raven watched as Tobias pulled out a book and buried himself into the text.

"Look! It's grimy grimm," an obnoxious voice called out and Raven looked up to see several girls surrounding Tobias. The ringleader was none other than Kitten Moth and her circle of cheerleaders. "How much money do you have in your wallet today, grimy?"

Two girls quickly yanked him to his feet and searched him, taking his wallet and handing it to Kitten. "Is this all you have? A measly 5 dollars?"

Tobias rubbed the back of his head, giving her a grimace "Sorry, but Mr. Mathews collected most of my money earlier." Kitten balled up and threw back the money at him, stepping closer to him.

"You are my personal bank, not Johnny Rancid's. Understand?" She punctuated each word with a sharp jab of her finger into his chest. She turned around and left, being followed by the rest of her cheerleaders.

Tobias sighed as he picked up his money and his discarded wallet, before sitting back down to read again. Raven watched him quietly, appraising him during the whole event. 'Why doesn't he just stand up for himself?' the thought crossed her mind. She wasn't too sure of his height, since he walked in a slightly hunched manner, but he was taller than herself, that she could tell. His eyes were a dark green color behind his thick glasses and he had ash colored long hair that fell past his ears. He was wearing a pair of baggy black jeans and a pull over sweater with a sideways E logo on it.

It had been a cloudy, overcast day to begin with and now rain was pouring down along with thunder and lightning. Most of the students had a bored expression on their faces as they waited for the clock to strike 3:00. Tobias walked into the class halfway through, looking a bit battered as he apologized to the teacher "Sorry I'm late, ma'am. I fell down the stairs and ended up in the nurse's office."

The teacher rolled her eyes at the excuse as she shooed him into his seat. At the back of the class, Raven was there once again, realizing that she had yet another class with him. The teacher continued playing the video the class was supposed to be watching as Tobias sat down. "Why don't you just stand up to people?" Raven asked, seeing as Tobias took a seat next to her.

"Oh, hello," Tobias greeted her brightly "You're one of Timothy's friends, right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Raven arched an eyebrow at him. "I asked you why not just defend yourself?"

"Why make things harder than they already are," Tobias said with a grin and a shrug of his shoulders. "But, I don't think you should be talking to me, people will think badly of you if you do."

Raven rolled her eyes at that last comment, choosing to ignore it. "They humiliate you all the time, that's why."

"Things will work out in their own ways," Tobias responded as he pulled out his book once more and left Raven alone.

"You're definitely strange," she said, shaking her head.

"It won't be the first time that someone's said that," Tobias chuckled before going back to his book, while Raven put her head down for a nap.

It was still raining when Raven was making her way home, having stayed after school with Tim and the others to hang out. Her path home took her through the city's most lively streets at night, where clubs, bars and other places of entertainment lay. Raven stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn green as she looked around. 'It's raining out here and that club still has a long entrance line...' she shook her head disparagingly.

"Hey cutie, how about you join us for some fun?" a hand was laid on her shoulder, which she shrugged off without hesitation. "Aww, come on, don't be so cold... we'll have some good fun, right guys?" he was answered with several laughs as he looked around the rough looking people he called friends. He reached out and grabbed Raven's arm, trying to lead her to one of the many bars there but she wrested her arm free and ran into the street.

A horn filled the air and a car's breaks joined in as well as a bright red mustang careened towards her. She turned in time to see the car lights when someone grabbed her, pulling her out of the car's path. She realized that she was on the floor, in someone's arms. "That wasn't fun..." he groaned, his minty breath blowing on her ear.

"Yo! X, you alright?" several people walked over as Raven pulled herself to her feet. "No wonder he rushed into traffic like a fool." a tall red head gave Raven's savior a hand up. Raven took a good look at the person who saved her. He was tall, steel blue-gray eyes with a scar above his right eyebrow and long ash colored hair pushed back into spikes with a single bang on the right side of his face**_(1)_**. His body was slim but with visible muscles under his t-shirt and his slim fit pants.

"You okay, right?" were the first words out of his mouth when he turned to face Raven.

"Y-Yeah, thank you..." Raven answered, looking back to the stoplight. She saw the people that were bothering her on the floor unconscious.

"Hope you don't mind, boss... but we kinda beat the crap outta those fools over there," the red head thrust his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the people on the other side of the street. "Don't worry about it, Max," a girl with hot pink hair slapped him in the shoulder, "Boss isn't pissed at us."

"You should be more careful through this part of the city," X said, rubbing his scraped and bloody shoulder.

"We gotta go boss, there's another match on tonight." Max said as he checked the time.

"See you around, cutie." He turned and walked off, followed by his friends, leaving Raven standing there alone.

_**AGX**_

"Hey, Raven, where'd you get that nasty looking scrape on your leg?" Garfield Logan, another of Tim's crowd, asked her when she approached the table. "You weren't in any trouble now, were you?"

"It was raining yesterday and I fell." Raven's answer was short and to the point as she took a seat next to Kori Anders, Tim's girlfriend. "Hey, Kori," she greeted her with her usual expressionless face while Kori gave her a cheerful good morning.

"Have you seen Tim?" Kori asked Garfield, quickly jotting down some calculations as she finished her Trig homework.

"No, but I'm sure he's probably stuffing that Tobias kid into a locker somewhere," Raven answered as she pulled out her book.

"Tim wouldn't do that," Kori said indignantly while Raven rolled her eyes and pulled herself into her book.

"I wouldn't do what?" Tim smiled at Kori as he pulled her into his arms for a hug.

"Nothing at all, Tim, nothing at all," Raven brushed away the conversation before she stood up. With a short good bye, she left the now noisy table and headed towards the library. She cut through the empty building and when she turned the corner, she caught sight of John Matthews or Johnny Rancid. Tall, with long black hair and a face that held a permanent scowl, he was considered one of the school's worst thugs. He was beating up on someone at the moment and when he heard Raven approach, he turned around quickly, allowing her to catch sight of a mop of unruly ash colored hair.

"Leave him alone, Rancid." Raven's request was more of an order and Johnny snarled at her as he stepped forward.

"Don't tell me what to do, freak. Stay out of my business unless you want me to get rough on you too." He extended a hand towards Raven to shove her back when someone grabbed it from behind.

"Hey, leave her alone." Tobias's voice faltered slightly as he gripped Johnny's arm. One moment he was looking Johnny in the eyes, the next moment he's on the ground getting kicked.

"Yo! Rancid!" a deep voice echoed through the hallway and Johnny turned around to see a tall muscled male of African American descent. Victor "Cyborg" Stone, known throughout the whole school for his athletic skills and for his love for machines, was one of Raven's friends. "I suggest you take off or there might be trouble."

Johnny gritted his teeth as he glared at Victor before he turned and left. "I'll get my money later, Grimm... count on it."

"You okay, kid?" Vic gave Tobias a hand up, easily picking him up. "Should've just popped him one, right across the jaw. He'd have been off before you know it."

"I'm okay," Tobias grinned ruefully, picking up his broken glasses from the floor. "Why hit him? Everyone gets what they have coming to them."

"Does that include you?" Raven arched an eyebrow at him as he brushed off his sweater, wincing slightly when he tapped his shoulder.

"If it does, then it does," Tobias answered with a shrug as he picked up his backpack off the floor. "Thanks for helping me out, but you should be careful with Johnny," he walked off with a slight smile, wincing when his swinging backpack tapped his ribs.

"What's wrong Rancid?" Kitten Moth strutted over, this time a rare occasion since none of the cheerleaders were with her. But beside her stood Fang. With an impressive height for a high schooler, and a scowl on his face, the black haired Fang stood there impassively while Kitten conducted her business.

"Leave me the fuck alone, bitch," Johnny growled at her, as he held his right arm with his left hand. "Just because your boy toy is here, doesn't mean I won't hurt either of you." He looked down again, at the finger shaped bruises on his arm as Kitten gave an unfeminine snort of laughter.

"You think you can take him, Rancid?" Kitten's taunts finally made Johnny snap. Before she could blink, his fist crashed into her face. Fang moved forward but a fist smashing into the back of his skull checked him.

"You letting small fry get to you now, Johnny?" If anyone in the school thought size didn't matter, they didn't once Baron Flinders appeared. His bulk was all muscle, as is proven by all the fights he's gotten into. Many found it hard to believe that the long haired biker wanna be was a high schooler due to his bulk alone, but they didn't question it.

"Piss off, Mammoth," Johnny said with a grunt, walking away from the unconscious duo of Fang and Kitten. "So, am I set for tonight? With the champion?"

"Nah... You're going up against one of his lackeys, since it's his day off today," Mammoth's answer served only to infuriate Johnny even further.

_**Later that evening...**_

Raven walked into her usual relaxation place, a popular cafe/bookstore called Lost Heaven. She walked to the counter, watching as her savior from the night before turned to greet her. "Hey, cutie, welcome to Lost Heaven, what can I get you?" with a smile on his face.

"Where's Benny?" Raven asked as she eyed his name tag which only had an X on it.

"Benny took the day off for personal reasons," he looked back at the counter before turning back to face her. "So, you've been careful since the other night?" he gave her a grin as he started preparing her a cup of tea, adding a dollop of honey and milk. He placed the cup on the counter along with a book "Here, first one's on me, okay?"

"Only if you tell me how you knew what I wanted," Raven looked at him expectantly.

"Benny told me to take good care of you since you're one of hi-" he got cut off by the ringing of his cellphone. He fished in his pockets for it and when he retrieved it, he answered "Yo... what's going on?"

_"Hey, boss... Guess who's here for a match? It's Rancid. What should I do?" _

"Crush him..." X answered before hanging up and looking back at Raven. "Where was I? Oh... he said to take good care of you cause you're one of his favorite customers."

"Tell Benny I said thanks... and thanks to you as well." With that said, she retreated to her favorite corner chair and sat down. Slowly, classical music started to fill the room as she got comfortable in her chair.

"Hey, miss, how are you doing?" Raven rolled her eyes, knowing full well who was speaking to her. "Would you join me in a drink?"

"I already have a drink." Raven's answer was short. The guy didn't leave though; he took a seat close to her and made an effort to start a conversation with her. "Quite a nice moon tonight, isn't it?" Again he was met by silence, watching as Raven took a sip of her tea and continued ignoring him. "What's your name?"

Raven was growing irritated but before she managed to say anything someone else did. "Hey man, the lady wants you to take a hike."

"She hasn't said anything of the sort," the guy argued and X laid a hand on his shoulder, gripping tight enough to make him wince.

"She doesn't have to say anything. Now beat it." X yanked him up out of the chair and started pulling him outside.

"Let me go. I demand to speak to your manager." the guy started making a commotion and several of the cafe's regulars looked up before ignoring the sight.

"Guess what? Tonight, I'm the manager. So get out." X tossed him out the door and walked off to the restroom to wash his hands. When he returned, he saw Raven once more at the counter. "Need a refill? Or do you fancy a taste of something else?" he motioned to the menu behind him.

"Just a refill..." she answered, waiting for him to fill her cup before retreating back to her corner once more. There she remained until people started trickling out little by little until it was empty and it was closing time.

"Hey... sorry to rain on your parade, but its closing time." X was cleaning up the counter as several of the other workers were fixing the chairs and everything. "Benny told me you like to stay until closing time, but its kinda late you know..." He walked over, picking up the empty mug and the closed book from the table and back to the counter.

"Bye..." Raven said quietly before she drifted out of the shop and into the streets, quiet as a ghost.

_**Elsewhere…**_

The cheers of the crowd died down as Johnny dropped to one knee. He was breathing heavy, blood trickling down his face and to the floor as he watched his opponent. "You're 100 years too early to even think about challenging us." A voice boomed out and the crowd started cheering louder as a tall, lean red head fighter stepped forward. "What will you do now, Wild Dog? Will you finish it? Or continue to play with him?"

_**"FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!"** _the crowds started chanting, the people closest to the cage grasped it and started rattling the fence.

Wild Dog, the red head fighter as he was known, lashed out with a knee that collided with Johnny's face with a sickening crunch. He stepped back, watching as Johnny stood up and took a step forward. "Look at that, Johnny Rancid is standing once more." the announcer sounded surprised. Wild Dog gave a feral smirk but before he could take a step forward, Johnny collapsed face first into the floor.

"It's over! The challenger has failed. The challenger has failed!" the crowd erupted into more cheers as Wild Dog walked out of the cage.

"Did you have to be so brutal, Max?" his keeper walked forward with a wet towel in her hand.

"The boss told me to crush him, Jinx." Max shrugged as he wiped off the sweat from his face while Jinx scowled at him. Max turned and wrapped his arms around her slender body, rubbing her head affectionately. "Don't be mad at me. He's been looking to get beaten down for a while now." Jinx gave him a glare that melted into a smile as she hugged him too. He let her go and grabbed a clean towel and some clothes. "Just let me take a quick shower and we're off to find the boss."

"Gotta celebrate, right?" Jinx fixed her hair once more before going off to make a phone call.

**_A/N: (1) – Cause I suck at descriptions, then on my profile you can find a link that shows you a picture of X's hair style…. Not my pic of course…. So I probly don't own the style… but that's only if you care…_**

_**That's it for now… Adios for now… and thanks to anyone that read this. I was hyper on energy drinks when this appeared… so adios for now….. **_


End file.
